Red hair dye and a hat: Christina Hendricks's good hair day tips

Christina Hendricks on her favourite lipsticks, good hair day rules and all that flame-haired beauty trickery

Recently signed as new ambassador for Clairol's Nice n' Easy, actress Christina Hendricks is lifting the lid on her beauty regime - most notably the fact that the flame-haired beauty isn't actually flame-haired at all, (a childhood obsession with Anne of Green Gables inspired her to take the red plunge early on in her career).

Hendricks, who is fronting the brand's Shifting A Shade (#ShiftAShade) campaign has even come clean that she dyes her hair herself: "When I'm at work I get a helping hand but otherwise I do it myself." Like a pro she adds, "I try to use Nice'n Easy ColourSeal Gloss once a week to help against fading - it smells lovely and makes my hair feel really soft too." She uses the stuff so often, she even keeps a box of her favourite colour in her drawer.

So as a natural dark blonde, how does the 39-year-old pin-up keep up her good hair days? "Well, besides my Nice n' Easy red colour, which has been my hair saviour, it's usually a hat," she says. In fact, the American actress talks a lot about how fashion and her red hair are intertwined; "I think being a red head has encouraged me to be a bit more playful with my fashion, maybe be little bit more quirky and eccentric even, so when I go out in the evening I like to play with colour and jewellery and it sort of complements being a red head."

The Mad Men actress thinks the right shade of lippy does her red hair favours too - her favourites being Nars Pop Life and Dolce & Gabbana Cosmopolitan. "I do tend to like orangey red lipstick. You'll see me a lot with a coral lipstick on. It goes well with red hair," she says.

Against her Titian hair and coral lips, the actress uses Max Factor Mastertouch Concealer ("my favourite bargain beauty product for under the eyes and blemishes. It's always creamy, moisturising and it blends well,") and Stila Black Liquid Eyeliner. "I've been doing my make-up essentially the same for a very long time which has now become my 'go-to' for a night out which includes a little lash line with Stila Black Liquid Eyeliner," she says.

And then there are the moisturisers, lip balms and cuticle oils she keeps next to her seat on the sofa, "so I can file my nails and do some pampering while I watch a movie. I like to keep a little side table of beauty products. I've also been using Tacha," she reveals, "a camellia oil that's got little flecks of gold in it so it feels so, so nice on your skin. It's by a Japanese company inspired by old traditions of Geishas - I really like finding niche brands, and I also like trying new stuff."

Picture perfect she may be, her regime isn't just about looking good however, it's about feeling good too. For the wellbeing and exercise bit Hendricks takes long walks with Zou Zou (her pet dog) in Central Park, and she likes to "chill": "Lots of my friends have been in town recently so I've been having lunch with my girlfriends and generally chilling out," she adds.

After being on set all day Hendricks admits, "I'm usually too tired to cook, so I often order in or stop in a restaurant with my husband. To relax at the end of the day, I'm definitely someone who sits in front of the fireplace because I think it's so romantic and I love it." She blames hit American TV-series The Good Wife for her box-set affliction, "I started it quite late, but I'm rapidly catching up with some cramming sessions." We love a beauty ambassador with vices.